I lived in New Zealand for four years but never visited Australia. I don't think I've ever met any Australians in-person other than an example I will use below.

However, my parents did visit Australia for seven weeks in March-April 1999. They travelled almost everywhere except the west coast in that time. Generally, they enjoyed their stay. People were friendly (with a few exceptions) and had a great sense of humour. Food quality was also very good. The only complaints that they had really was the quality of accomodation was not usually as good as it was said to be in literature.

In Hamilton, my parents bumped into an older local couple and started chatting. My mom wanted to visit Hamilton for the mere fact that she was born in Hamilton, Canada and had also previously visited Hamilton, Bermuda and Hamilton, NZ. So they kept in touch and arranged to host them at our house in Toronto for a few days in November 1999.

In short, I've never met such annoying people in my life. All they ever did is complain that everything they had seen in Canada and the US in their travels had not measured up to their expectations. Well, boo-hoo! I suppose we're expected to appologize to them! At the dinner table, the conversation was usually the copious academic and financial accomplishments of their offspring. I was so turned off that I abruptly left the table during dinner without saying a word. My mom knew why and sort of gave a smirk...she joined me a few minutes later and told me how she wanted to hit them with a sledgehammer (this is my mom, remember!). That left only my father to go through the snooze-fest of bragging.
Thank goodness they didn't stay long!

I don't know if this applies to all Aussies, but I certainly see some characteristics in them that are also common to Mx5_boy.

I lived in Adelaide for five years, as well as Melbourne and Sydney for shorter periods of time.

First things - The weather is great. I live in London and although it is a fantastic city, the weather is really demoralising.

Also, Aussies tend to be more optimistic and fun-loving than Brits in general - I guess this is the weather once more.

They are the greatest sporting nation on earth, no contest. Of their national sports (those played outside of Australia - meaning Aussie rules doesn't count) then they are the masters certainly of Cricket and probably rugby too (the forthcoming England (I mean Lions!) tour should settle whether England or Australia are number one - although it does concern me that England always manage to peak BETWEEN World Cups!). But, if you look at the ratio of olympic gold medals won compared with the number of people in Australia, then the Aussies are way ahead. In my opinion this is because their sporting academies are second to none.

I do find incredible similarities between Oz and the UK. If it wasn't for the weather, being in, say, Melbourne is like being in the UK at times. And yet many Aussies seem to take pride in the fact that they are so different, when the reality is that I can take a train from London to Paris in two hours and see people ten times different from us than those residing on the other side of the world.

Bad things about Australia - I think that the country gets a little too patriotic at times, (but this pales into insignificance compared to some of the verbal diahorroea I have seen emanating from some of our US members). However, Australia does have a lot of recent successes to be proud of, so to an extent this tubthumping is justified.

I think the country also suffers significantly from extremist views - my prediction is that within five years tere will be an escalation of violence against illegal/economic migrants in Australia. Also, Cathy Freeman winning a gold medal does NOT mean that the Aboriginal issue has been resolved (at least not as far as the Aboriginal people are concerned).

What needs to be considered is that the country is huuuuuggggge. There is a hell of a lot of diversity and that is why it is such an interesting place.

As an aside, my memories of OZ involve a plethora of man-made 'The World's largest' objects, such as 'The world's largest lobster', or 'the world's largest orange'. What is this obsession with huge objects?

I used to think the brain is the most fascinating part of my body. But, hey, who is telling me that?

I had the chance to visit and felt that Australians are one of the nicest people I encountered. Friendly, no attitude and fun to talk to. The country is great so it also talks a lot about it. Is a multicultural place that grew with a lot of tolerance too.

When I was there I was surprised because I look for some sort of reference to the British (somehow their ancestors). But I found Australians so different to the British, in my opinion far more pleasant and relaxed.

One thing I hate is being referred to as "convicts" or a place where "brittish sent their scums", these are some of the things that people have said jokingly to me, and somtimes in a hostile way. I am proud to have that sort of heritage, those convicts did petty things compared to todays criminals, and they were the poeple who helped settle our nation, they had to move to a new and hostile environment that they knew nothing about. They were then usually released after a few years and were allowed to settle in Australia. It might be hard to imagine for people who are not Australian, but for Australians who have ancestory that dates back to the convicts, or early settlers, it makes you pretty damn proud of it. I am not saying that to be Australian you need to have ancestors in the first fleet or anything like that, Australia wouldnt be Australia without its diversity of cultures. Like I said it is hard to explain. Today is ANZAC day to, lest we forget.
VH

Never been there, but I think that it is awfully interesting by being such a technologically-advanced and exotic place that is so far away from everything else. Would love to go there sometime in the future to see it for myself.

No inferiority complex at all. But I did post the topic, ad nausem, due to the other silly ones that were floating around this board.

One would have hoped that we had more to offer than the proverbial "crocodile dundee", ick the yanks can keep Paul Hogan...

As for the poms, you guys can keep Rolf Harris too!

As someone suggested, the land of oz is huge and sparsley populated. All our capital cities are completely different, what I found odd was that Ryanb suggested that we are still like the UK? Perhaps Melbourne clings to Brittish stuffines however Sydney and Brisbane are completely different.

As for the bizarre 'big' things, there are plenty of them. Where I grew up in SE Queensland, we had the Big Pineapple, the Big Cow, the Big Beehive, the Big House made of Bottles etc etc. Tacky and gaudy tourist attractions that were filled to the brim on weekends and public / school holidays.

I can't remember how many times I had to suffer as one relative after another came to visit us and demanded to go to the big cow and big pineapple.

Others to note are the Big Prawn, the Big Banana, the Big Merino, the Big Worm, the Big Avocado etc etc.

Anyhow, back to work for me! (as I stare out my 20th floor window overlooking the most beautiful harbour in the world - harbour bridge on one side and Sydney opera house on the other.)

What really really really made me laugh was when I was watching the US version of survivor when the host....hmm i dunno his name but then again don't really care... was when he said here is a "BOOMERAnG"- dunno if thats how you even spell it.

He then goes on to say " THis is Australia's favourite weapon".....that there is right about when I lost it - considering me being an Australian for over 17 years and the only time that I ever see one of these things is in a friggen tourist shop.

What p*sses me off in Australia is the television industry.... just because something was a hit in the US or in the UK, yes it means that we down under all have to sit through a crappy season of some American such as Bette who just really wanted to have her "own" show. Not just one but bazillions of them.

ANd another thing - can Australians TV producers come up with there own ideas at all? I have seen all these lifestyle shows and then at the end it says based on the Uk version or based on the US version. What realy did it for me was at the end of the Survivor episode there was a commercial to apply for the Australian version of survivor.... WIll they ever learn???

ANd can someone answer me this question - is The Mole an Australian idea or just another imitation??

Yes I could go on forever..... oh and one more thing - last year i went to high school this year Uni..... time and time again I hear Americans bashing Australia how it sucks and they own us - but quite frankly I coul'nt care less because I will always know in my head that I can go to secondry education and learn without running the risk of some class mate shooting me down. Yeah thats right this lucky country was smart enough to take the guns away from the people. Hehe.
You see we arent that dumb after all.

But yeah its a bit of a hole but overall we are lucky... and no technically no one owns us. Or i hope not anyhow.

Since almost all my family think so much of me that they went to live in Australia/NZ and I ended up having to stay in the UK,I have recently started to become a bit of a frequent visitor to Australia.I love the place,and I love the people-they have an outlook that simply doesn't exist in the UK,mostly because of the climate which is far more conducive to an outdoor lifestyle.I also admire Australia's ability to take pride in itself-unfortunately in the UK there are too many divisions i.e.Welsh,Irish,English,Scots etc for us to be a 'United' Kingdom,and a show nationality is all too often mistaken for racism.:-(

you can't buy time but you can sell your soul and the closest thing to heaven is to rock'n'roll

I love Australia and I love Aussies!! They seems so tought but are some of the funnest people to be around, and most Aussies I've met on vacation seem to be good-spirited people with hearts. I love 'em.

Australia the country itself- What pictures I've seen make it look gorgeous!! I personally would love to go see the Twelve Apostles rock forms off teh caost. That area is beautiful, though I can't remember exactly where they are.

To Windsong the Big Pineapple is still here except that it is not that big as the people overpass over the 4 lane highway is now bigger.
Not everyone is big, There was once a Super Bee, but it seems to have gone, or changed names. I did find Big Kart Track, these are probably everywhere.
South East Queensland is home to a large number of theme parks, Seaworld, Dreamworld, Movieworld(don't bother go to Universal Studios), Wet N Wild, the beaches and the Great Barrier Reef further north.
I think Mx5_Boy was looking for outsiders perceptions but I just had to say how good a place where I live.

I grew up in SE Queensland. Bribie Island to be exact. I can safely tell you it was a 'love + hate' relationship I had with the place, until I started driving (15 yrs and illegaly) and could get around a bit more.

I realise that many of those 'big' things are no longer there or have been changed to something else, but do you remember those HUGE deserts with all that mock cream they had at the Big Pineapple? Disgusting!

Inferiority complex!! Hell yes they have one. My dad has a long time Australian friend who rags on America everytime I go to his house, even though he has been living here for 30 years. Almost every Australian person I met on the internet is a jerk. They have contributed almost nothing and they make it seem like they invented the light bulb. They have the highest teen suicide rate in the world and they still say they love it there?? Crocodile Dundie gives them too much credit.

My dad's Australian, as he was born and raised in a suburb of Sydney, so I still have relatives in the Sydney area. Sydney's a great city for sure, if you can get past the environmental problems that come with every city of its size, which is over 4 million. (Sydney bashers beware!) Ya gotta love the Harbour. I lived in Sydney and Canberra with my parents when I was very young, but I've been in Canada since 1975.

Generally, Australians are alright in my view. Last time I was in Australia, I went with my brother in 1993 up to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical rainforests. Not all of Australia's a hot and dry Outback kind of place! And of course, we did see our relatives in Sydney and near Bathurst, NSW. Most of the locals were pretty friendly, especially when they found we were Canadians. I knew they could see that, too - I had a sports jacket with me with "Canada" written across the back at the time. Talk about patriotism! Not bad actually since I have seen a lot of people worldwide tend to think of Canadians better than Americans, not that I think all Yanks are bad though!

My sister just got back from a great trip to Sydney to see our relatives and a group tour going from Cairns to Sydney. She liked the whole trip a lot, having gone there for more than a month.

As for me, I'll be returning to Australia within a few years - only I'll try to see more of it!

BTW, the Big Beehive? Sounds like the House of Parliament in Wellington, NZ!

You numbnut. B4 you go shooting off at the mouth about who can't play baseball, just go back not 18 months ago and ask yourself who were the WORLD CHAMPIONS in BASEBALL? It sure as hell isn't the country which you are thinking.

I truly think Australia is amongst the most picturesque nations in the world. The beautiful Australian Alps with its Tyrolean flavor. And who could forget Julie Andrews singing "The Sound of Music" with a wonderfully scenic Australian valley in the backround. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the great Mozart come from Australia? Ah...Australia, a beautiful country nestled in the heart of Europe. PS. And lets not forget the Australian artisans crafting their beatiful cukoo clocks.

You numbnut. B4 you go shooting off at the mouth about who can't play baseball, just go back not 18 months ago and ask yourself who were the WORLD CHAMPIONS in BASEBALL? It sure as hell isn't the country which you are thinking.

America didn't send any Major Leaguers? Well who's fault is that? Not our fault is it? Nor is it Cuba's fault (the team which we beat). Isn't it funny how the Cubans make up a sizeable portion of the high paid MBL'ers? And here we have this country that plays cricket, even though it is crap, because we can't play baseball, come out and beat the Cubans (and Americans) at their "own" game on a world stage.

OK...here's what we'll do LOT.....seeing as America didn't send their MBL'ers (only because the players are so fucking tight with their money with their "If we don't get paid, why the hell should we play for our country" attitude), how about we organise a friendly game of cricket between the two country's. Yes! America does have a national cricket team. BELIEVE IT OR NOT! For the Australian team, I will personally go to my local high school and pick a squad of 12 15-16 year old boys to put up against your national squad. That would be a fair match-up (especially seeing as we don't have an equivalent to University cricket here in Australia). Do you think the Yanks would win? Not on your life.

So don't come around here come here with your "Yea thats because the USA did not send Major Leaguers there" crap. Your country chose not to send it's best team, because then cry-babies over there could claim at a later stage (if you lost...which you did) "Yea thats because the USA did not send Major Leaguers there". Why not send your Major Leaguers in the first instance to prove that they are the WORLD'S BEST BASEBALL PLAYERS??? Not afraid of getting beat? C'mon...that couldn't be it surely?

Oh yeah.....I would hope that this is something that rubs off onto other people from us.

I.E. SPORT!!! AND OUR DOMINATION IN WORLD TEAM SPORTS!! Whether that sport be cricket, rugby league, rugby union, netball, and of course, baseball. And also our willingness to send our best men or women in for the job.

Not a la, England, where Australians playing in the Premier League are not cleared from their club duties to play for the Socceroos in international matches.

Not a la, America, where sportsmen and women don't play in the major international events (especially those in which they represent the country) unless they are paid for it. A la Davis Cup with Sampras and Agassi. A la golf with Tiger Woods. And a la sending their college baseball team to be flogged by us Aussies!!!

The climate
Natural beauty
Aussie sense of humour
Australian Open Tennis Championships
Great Cities
Wildlife
The people (those I have encountered are very direct in their manner, no messing around, they just come right on out and say what they mean) I like that.

BAD THINGS

Dame Edna Everage
Neighbours
Home and Away
Too far away from England
Too expensive to travel to from England
The Sullivans

Wow LOT im impressed you actually are educated enough to realise there are other countries out side of the U.S!!, well done!!. So now that you dont think baseball is a "real sport", because Aviatsiya whooped your ass on that subject, you move on to basketball?? whats next?. HA you make me laugh, dont take that as a compliment though, its just a reflection of how pathetic you are. Has anyone had the rather amusing experience of watching the U.S rugby team play. I watched them play in the Rugby sevens on the weekend here, what a joke, Argentina even beat them, no offense to Argentinians, and this is not an attack on Americans either.
VH

Dame Edna Everage
Neighbours
Home and Away
Too far away from England
Too expensive to travel to from England
The Sullivans

Ha ha ha ha, you made me laugh, I can't beleive you are still suffering with "The Sullivans". I hated that awful show! You still have to suffer with Rolf Harris too, yikes! But I suppose we have worse, all your back packers...